Date Published: 12/02/09
Even you, Madam Kofo Bucknor-Akerele By Joe Igbokwe
“Male chauvinists will tell you that women are the weaker sex. They will
tell you that women are tied to the apron strings of men, and that they
cannot achieve anything without the support of men. They will say women
achievers get to the position of authority through gender-motivated
process. Some will say women are not courageous and therefore cannot be
trusted with big responsibility. Yet others say women are not cut out for
rigorous engagements. Three women I know in Nigeria have debunked these
unjustified claims by their excellent performance during Nigeria’s
darkest hours between June 12 1993 and June 8 1998. The women? Senator
Kofo Bucknor-Akerele, Kudirat Abiola and Ayo Obe”
This is how I opened a small piece on Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele in page
146-148 of my book, HEROES OF DEMOCRACY in 1999. Mrs. Kofo Bucknor Akerele
remains my heroine of democracy politics or no politics even though she
breaks my heart with her politics these days. Her politics since she left
AD to DPA and then to PDP. I have been worried that she has not been
getting it right. She even once worked for IBB, the man who connived with
the late General Sani Abacha to kill some First Class Yoruba leaders, some
they put in detention and some they chased into exile in the years of the
locusts. At 70, Mrs. Kofo Bucknor-Akerele’s brand of politics continues
to worry me to the marrows and it pains me to no end. Considering the type
of dangerous politics she has played since she left AD as Deputy Governor,
her romance with those who destroyed Nigeria, and her inability to pick a
political camp and stay put with it no matter the problem, I want to say
that my heroine of democracy would have been better off if she had remained with
other heroes and heroines in the same camp in AD/AC.
If there is any proof to show how deep she has sunk into several
frustrations she has found herself in the past few years, I refer the
readers to the recent interview she granted a newspaper in Lagos where she
said that Governor Fashola is only planting flowers in Lagos. I found this
statement totally unbecoming if anybody that is privileged to be 70 years
old. I found this statement to be in bad taste and at best wickedness in
the worst form. The temptation is to use harsh words for my heroine but I
cannot do that because I know what this woman did for Nigeria and Yoruba
race when it mattered most.
Now, madam Kofo must answer these questions. Madam, are you saying all the
massive road projects going on from Ozumba Mbadiwe to Lagos-Badagry
expressway, from Yaba to Western Avenue and other locations in Lagos are
mere planting of flowers? Madam, are you saying that the construction of
two very important bridges linking Lekki to Ikoyi, and the one linking
Itire to Okota are mere planting of flowers? Is my heroine saying the
construction of massive drainages and canals all over Lagos are mere
planting of flowers? Is madam Kofo saying the recoveries of under bridges
and illegally occupied spaces that became dens of robbers and street
urchins are mere planting of flowers? Is madam Kofo saying that massive
refurbishing of schools and hospitals going on in Lagos are mere
non-events? Is the former Deputy Governor saying that the opening of gated
streets that helped in no small way to reduce traffic jams in Lagos is a
non event?
Is my heroine of democracy unhappy with the new look of Lagos? If Senator
Kofo Bucknor-Akerele can take a deep look at the massive transformational
changes going on in Lagos and call it mere planting of flowers, I honestly
think she has a big problem. When money is lost, nothing is lost, when
health is lost nothing is lost but when character is lost everything is
lost. If my 24 karat gold is rusting what will ordinary iron do?
Now, my honest advice: my heroine can return to her original family and I
tell you, these frustrations will simply go away.
Joe Igbokwe
Lagos |
